More adventures…and a fun technique for you!

grand-canyon-pageOK here’s the second page that I created in MDS from my recent girls trip to Utah/Arizona and Stampin’ Up!’s 25th Anniversary Convention. Melanie organized a stay in Kanab, where we stayed in a gorgeous huge house that actually belongs to Shelli Gardner (the co-founder & CEO of Stampin’ Up!)’s family. We toured the factory there and saw the sights, including a day trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This was my first trip to the Grand Canyon and it was fantastic – and my photos don’t do it justice.

So once again, I used a 12 x 12 photo page template in MDS and added my photos into it.  I’ll do a quick video tutorial on how to create the image at the top (so stay tuned!).  It’s actually three photo blocks that you “group” together, and then drag & drop your photo into place. It’s a great way to incorporate a larger photo to a pre-set layout.  The bottom right photo is a fun set up that I have taken to doing whenever there’s an opportunity… A friend introduced me to this concept a few years back (OK a LOT of years back) when we were at Ayer’s Rock or Uluru in Australia. You find a spot where there’s an outcropping or a downhill slope area, then set yourself up so it looks like you’re hanging off the edge! Again, note that I say it LOOKS like you’re hanging off the edge. You are TOTALLY safe. This being said, we did see some crazy people climbing out to the edge for photo ops, and I couldn’t even look at them – too stressful for me. I have enough stress in my life without adding to it.

cliff-hangers

 

Here’s me, Dana and Sue (Sue being the only one who looks convincing in this shot…..) cropped photo ready to go…

 

 

 

behindthescenes

 

and here’s the uncropped photo showing how we did it (not that you couldn’t figure it out yourself, I’m sure…LOL). This was taken by an innocent passerby that we convinced to take the shot for us (and who didn’t get the instruction to take us from waist up). I’m sure she wondered what the heck we were doing….

We had so many laughs during our time together – I’m so fortunate to have found such good friends through crafting!

 

 

 

 

 

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What I’ve been up to….

convention-pageI think I’ve now recovered from the excitement of Stampin’ Up!’s 25th Anniversary Convention! It was quite the gathering this year, with over 5000 demonstrators from North America and around the world descending upon Salt Lake City to celebrate. A few friends and I arrived in Utah a few days before the start to socialize and tour the area. Our friend Mel was kind enough to organize us for our road trip (and that was quite the job in itself…)

Here’s a page that I did featuring some images from convention – the centre shot is a picture of the stage – the “banners” could be different colours and have different background images on them – very cool. The top photos show the bag we received this year – we demonstrators always look forward to these! It’s a different design each time and comes loaded with supplies that we need to create our “Make & Take” projects (or in my case, “Take & Make”, since I usually just bring everything home and try to complete them then!). I really liked this year’s design, done in a classy white & silver motif. The only downfall….have you ever tried to negotiate through a crowd where everyone has a backpack??!! LOL At the right is me putting my card into the bin as part of the Guinness World Book of Records effort (a successful bid, too!).

The bottom row shows two of my friends getting recognition for their efforts this year in sales and downline promotions, and also enjoying the glitter shower at the end of convention. And…like true scrapbookers, taking photos of the event!!! We always have a fun time at these events, and I look forward to seeing my friends from year to year. Our circle of friends grows with new friends and group members that attend with us too! I’m hopeful that next year more of my demonstrator group will be able to attend with me. (Maybe YOU?!)

I made this page up quickly using a page template in MDS. It’s a 12 x 12 layout on a white background (which in hindsight, I probably should have changed to a different colour so you could actually see the borders of the page…DOH) I simply dragged & dropped the photos I wanted into the appropriate photo slots and was done! Instead of printing this page, I chose “share” and was able to save the page as a jpeg so I could upload here. I love digital scrapbooking because my photos are digital….and this way I can share them in a fun format rather than have them live on my hard drive where nobody gets to see them…

Come back tomorrow & I will share another quick page with you featuring a fun trick that you can do in MDS!

 

 

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Disney Marathon Scrapbook Page

Framed-disney-sb-pageFirst of all, a big thanks to all the crew and cast of CHCH TV's Morning Live Show. I have been so fortunate to have been asked to appear on this show many times, and it's always so much fun. On Friday, I was on to share some ideas for Valentine's cards and gifts. This is one of the projects that you may not have been able to catch a glimpse of on the day.

I think scrapbook pages can make great gifts – you can include them in a larger scrapbook that can be added to over time, or do as I've done here and put it into a frame to display. Since I don't do a huge volume of scrapbooking, I like the frame option. When I create a new one, it can go into the frame, and the previous page can go into my scrapbook. As with my cards, I prefer designs that aren't overly fussy, and quite honestly, for me, I need to get it done, or I'll dither away over it for hours (and probably end up stripping it back to what I started with…).

I created this layout to commemorate our family time at the DisneyWorld Marathon Weekend in January of this year. My son & I ran in the Family Fun Run 5km around Epcot, and later that weekend, I ran my third (!) marathon – the 20th Anniversary Disney Marathon. I wanted to create this page to remember the fun time we had. I love how the Real Red and Whisper White of the Polka Dot Parade Designer Series Paper reminds me of Minnie Mouse's dress. Oh, and of course, my Team Sparkle running skirt that I got for the occasion. I added the scallop edge using the Tasteful Trim Die in my Big Shot and added pennants with words that reflected the theme from the set Loving Thoughts. I used the new Oval Collection Framelits to create a journaling spot as well.

If you are looking to get some creative time in, please consider attending one of my monthly card making classes – or if you're looking to commit to some "me" time, consider joining the Stampers Club for 6 months of classes and a turn at spending some hostess dollars! Contact me for more information, or see the YamStamps Event Page.

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Frameable art

Framed-artFun thing about creating scrapbook pages – you can frame them to display like the work of art that they are!  This is one of the displays from Stampin' Up!'s convention – I still have so many photos to go through…I loved the effect of the butterflies going through the frame – and so easy to recreate using the Beautiful Wings embosslit and your Big Shot. 

The Lattice Bigz die creates a layer on the background of DSP; and hey – look, there's a notched edge on that strip of paper behind the photo? Wonder how they might have done that??!! ROFLOL.

If you're interested in getting a whole whack of pages done at once, consider attending my scrapbook in a day class, technically scrapbook in an afternoon…but you get the idea…more information and a sign up link can be found on the yamstamps class & events page, or you can contact me directly.

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Need to catch up? Try a Scrapbook in a Day Class!

SB-in-a-day-class-pageNeed to catch up on your scrapbooking? Want to get scrapbooking but don't know where to start? I've got a solution for you! Come to my "Scrapbook in a Day" class! You can attend this class and walk away with completed pages ready for your photos! You will receive the supplies and instructions to create twenty 8" x 8" pages with a Rich Razzleberry colour scheme for $45 – throw in an 8×8 scrapbook of your choice for a total of $70!  We will be using portions of the Razzleberry Splash Simply Scrappin' Kit. The class will be held Sunday, September 15th at 1pm here in Burlington. Please sign up on the class and events page here. In order to ensure I have all the supplies required, registration will close SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th. If you have any questions, or would prefer to pay by cheque or cash, please contact me. Payment is due at time of registration. Thanks!

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Another Sample – “Things I Love”

My-Project-12-007This is another My Digital Studio template page I created for my CH Morning Live appearance. Do I admit that I literally created most of the projects you saw on the show in a couple of hours the night before? (hmmm I guess I just did! ROFLOL)

Anyway, love this 'grungy' template (from the aptly named "Downtown Grunge Photobook Template") and frames. I dragged and dropped the images into the photo boxes to create this "Things I Love" page. I added the heart shaped punch to the layout to go with my theme and moved the circular punches around a little bit. The font is actually my own printing! MDS uses whatever fonts you already have installed in your computer. I generated this font at Your Fonts so now I am able to make my digital pages even more "mine".

I'll be sharing more of the projects from my appearance over the next while, so please be sure to come back & check them out!

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